Valve seat resurfacing tool



Juiy 5, 1966 R. 1.. COHEN 3,258,882

VALVE SEAT RESURFACING TOOL Filed Jan. 8, 1964 United States Patent 3,258,882 VALVE SEAT RESURFACING TOOL Richard L. Cohen, East Hills, N.Y. (33 Briar Lane, Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) Filed Jan. 8, 1964, Ser. No. 336,419 2 Claims. (Cl. 51-378) The present invention relates to a tool having an abrasive surface for resurfacing the valve-seat of a Douglastype valve.

In the flush-tank of a toilet, there is a valve that is opened to flush the toilet. The valve body is fixed to the bottom of the tank and is normally closed by a thin-walled ball. Pressure of the water in the tank bears down on the ball and keeps the ball seated so long as the valve remains closed. Once the ball is lifted from the valveseat, it floats until the tank has emptied, whereupon it reseats and the tank fills again.

A valve-seat is exposed to various deleterious conditions and in time the valve leaks. Even a small leak is serious where water is in short or limited supply. A leaky valve wastes water 24 hours a day. Where there is a leaky flush valve, the automatic filling apparatus in the tank remains partly open all the time in maintaining a constant level in the tank. The filling process and the leak itself tend to be noisy. Such noise is particularly offensive at night because it interferes with the sleep of anyone within hearing range.

Flush valves may leak because of corrosion of the valveseat, or because of the formation of scale and barnacles. To replace the valve is costly, and it is risky because there is always a chance of breaking the porcelain tank by sudden slipping of a tool in removing the valve seat.

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a new and highly effective tool for resurfacing the valve-seat of Douglas-type valves in situ. A further important object of the invention resides in the provision of a valve seat, refinishing tool that is effective for virtually all Douglas-type valve seats despite the variety of their shapes and diameters in the various valves available commercially. Valve-seats may have curved surfaces, to seal with spherical balls, or they may have conical seats. The conical angle may vary. It is important for a tool to perform elfectively despite such variation. A plumber should be able to use a single tool for the various sizes and shapes of valve-seats that he may encounter. A plumbing-supply store should be able to stock a single universal valve-seat refinishing tool. A home-owner should be able to buy a tool without having to describe the shape of his particular valve-seat.

The presently preferred embodiment of the invention, through which the foregoing and other objects are achieved, includes a shaft or spindle having a drive end accessible for the chuck of a small portable electric drill, a tube or sleeve along the spindle that may be held by the users hand, and at the end of the shaft opposite the drive end there is a tool head of special form. The head includes a firm, relatively rigid core having a generally conical lateral surface. A relatively thick resilient spongy cup covers the lateral surface of the core. The lateral surface of the cup is covered by grit that is held in place by resilient or stretchable cement.

The grit acts as an abrasive and rapidly scrapes and scours the valve seat when the head of the tool is rotated while being pressed downward lightly. The operation is surprisingly fast and effective in most cases. The tool accommodates various diameters of valves, its conical formation entering the valve seat until the correspondingdiameter part of the tool reaches the valve seat. The resilient spongy character of the grit-bearing cup adapts the tool to conform to valve seats having various conical angles as well as valve seats that are not simple conical 3,258,882 Patented July 5, 1966 portions but are curved variously, from each valve to the next. The tool is thus both firm and relatively soft. It is firm in that direct pressure is applied everywhere to the spongy cup by the core. The cup conforms readily to varied conical angles of valve seats and to variously curved valve seats. The grit has been described as adhered to the surface of the spongy material. However, if grit were suitably incorporated in the spongy material, the cement would not be needed.

The nature of the invention and the foregoing objects and novel features, as well as others, will be more fully appreciated from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment which is shown in the accompanying drawings. The tool illustrated is the form of tool presently preferred, and has been found durable, highly effective, and relatively inexpensive to produce.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical cross-section of a valve-seat resurfacing tool, embodying various features of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a lateral view of the tool drawn to smaller scale and shown in use on a valve-seat at the bottom of a flush tank; and

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 are enlarged fragmentary crosssectional views of a portion of the tool of FIG. 1 in contact with valve seats of various cross-sectional shapes.

In the drawings, shaft 10 rotatably carries a sleeve 12 between collars 14 and 16 that are fixed to the shaft. Shaft 10 has a threaded lower end that bears head 18. The head includes a core 20 having a general-1y conical lateral surface, as shown. Core 20 is firm and may be rigid, as of wood. 7 A spongy conical pad or cup 22 that conforms to the lateral surface of core 20 also extends across the bottom of the core. The pad is removably secured to the core and the core is secured for rotation with the shaft by means of a wing nut 24 and a washer 26. The outside surface of cup 22 is covered with grit 28 such as is used in making sandpaper, held in place by a readily stretchable cement. Pad or cup 22 is easily replaced when worn out.

In use, the tool head 18 is placed against the valve seat S in the bottom of a tank T. The opposite or drive end of shaft 10 is held in the chuck of a high-speed drill (such as a standard A-inch electric drill) and while the sleeve 20 is steadied by hand, the tool head is rotated by light bearing pressure against the valve seat. The hand which holds sleeve 12 is most effective in controlling this pressure. Water or soapy water on the valve seat promotes speedy and efiicient operation. The scale, accumulated barnacles and the like are quickly cleaned away. Grooves cut into the surface of the metal by leakage of water are leveled as the tool resurfaces the valve seat.

In FIGURE 2, the shaft 10 is seen to be long enough to dispose the electric drill bodily above the tank, and sleeve 12 is seen to extend .along all of the length of shaft 10 except that occupied by head 18 and that part which is exposed for cooperation with the drill. A long sleeve is of importance in avoiding a cramped position for the users arm and hand that holds the sleeve, and a long shaft is of like importance, in disposing the electric drill high and out of the way of the users sleeve-holding hand. Sleeve 12 in a practical tool is 10 inches long and shaft 10 is 14 inches long, and these dimensions have been found particularly desirable in that the tool is readily handled in flush tanks of the usual height. The length of the shaft and sleeve are helpful to the user in directing head 18 vertically into the valve seat, and without resort to complications aimed at achieving vertical orientation of the tool axis.

FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 show the coaction of the tool with various valve seats. FIGURE 3 illustrates a valve seat S1 whose angle is steeper than the conical angle of core 20.

Valve-seat S2 has a flatter angle than core 20. Valveseat S3 has a concave contour in its cross-section. In each case, the core 20 applies firm pressure to the spongy cup 22, and the cup yields to conform to the valve seat.

A material that has been found Well suited to use as the spongy pad 22 is foamed polyurethane (ether type) sold by Nopco Chemical Company as Nopcofoam F-403 and recommended by the manufacturer for cushioning and packaging. It has a density of 3.5 to 4.0

pounds per cubic foot; ithas a compression-load-deflection of 1.0 to 1.7 pounds per cubic foot at 25% deflection, 2.2 to 3.8 pounds per square inch at 65% deflection. At 50% deflection, it has a compression set of 12 to 16%.

The grit is eifectively adhered to, pad 22 by first applying coating of a rubber-base cement such as contact bond cement, then scattering grit over the wet cement coating, and then spraying another coating of this cement over the grit. The resulting adhesive and grit covering is easily stretchable but should not tear in normal use.

An indication of the proportions of the core and the sponge pad in a highly successful tool may be helpful. In this example, conical core 20 of 2-inch axial dimension has a maximum diameter of approximately 2% inches and a minimum diameter of 1% inches, and sponge pad 22 is /2 inch thick.

The examples of materials and proportions given have been found highly satisfactory, and the details are expressed to provide a full description of the best mode .presently contemplated for applying the invention as required by the patent statutes. However, variations and substitutions of materials and varied designs will readily occur to those skilled in the art, so that the invention should be broadly construed, consistent with full spirit and scope.

What is claimed is:

1. A valve-seat resurfacing tool, including an elongated shaft having an exposed'drive end for operation by an electric drill, a head at the end of the shaft remote from the drive end, and an elongated hand-grip sleeve rotatably disposed on said shaft between said drive end and said head, said head including a core having a generally conical firm lateral surface having diameters of approximately 1% inches and 2% inches at transverse planes spaced :apart 2 inches axially and being secured to said shaft with its minimum-diameter end remote from said drive end, a pad of resilient foamed material approximately /2 inch thick covering said core and secured thereto and having a compression-load-deflection of approximately 1.0 to 1.7 pounds per cubic foot at 25 deflection, and a coating of grit in a rubber-based readily stretchable cement on said pad.

2. A valve-seat resurfacing tool, including an elongated shaft having an exposed drive end for operation by an electric drill, a head at the end of the shaft remote from the drive end, and an elongated hand-grip sleeve rotatably disposed on said shaft between said drive end and said head, said head including a core having a generally conical firm lateral surface and being secured to said shaft with its minimum-diameter end remote from said drive end, a relatively thick-walled pad of resilient foamed polyurethane covering said core, and a coating of grit in a rubber-based readily stretchable cement on said pad, said pad being in the form of a cup having a portion extending across the small-diameter end of the core, said shaft having a threaded end, and means including a nut on said threaded end of the shaft removably securing said cup to said core for rotation with said shaft.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 170,178 11/1875 Locke. 2,650,158 8/1953 Eastman 51407 2,748,547 6/1956 Davies et a1. 51-37 X FOREIGN PATENTS 574,207 3/ 1958 Italy.

ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

L. S. SELMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A VALVE-SEAT RESURFACING TOOL, INCLUDING AN ELONGATED SHAFT HAVING AN EXPOSED DRIVE END FOR OPERATION BY AN ELECTRIC DRILL, A HEAD AT THE END OF THE SHAFT REMOTE FROM THE DRIVE END, AND AN ELONGATED HAND-GRIP SLEEVE ROTATABLY DISPOSED ON SAID SHAFT BETWEEN SAID DRIVE END AND SAID HEAD, SAID HEAD INCLUDING A CORE HAVING A GENERALLY CONICAL FIRM LATERAL SURFACE HAVING DIAMETERS OF APPROXIMATELY 1 1/4 INCHES AND 2 5/8 INCHES AT TRANSVERSE PLANES SPACED APART 2 INCHES AXIALLY AND BEING SECURED TO SAID SHAFT WITH ITS MINIMUM-DIAMETER END REMOTE FROM SAID DRIVE END, A PAD OF RESILIENT FOAMED MATERIAL APPROXIMATELY 1/2 INCH THICK COVERING SAID CORE AND SECURED THERETO AND HAVING A COMPRESSION-LOAD-DEFLECTION OF APPROXIMATELY 1.0 TO 1.7 POUNDS PER CUBIC FOOT AT 25% DEFLECTION, AND A COATING OF GRIT IN A RUBBER-BASED READILY STRETCHABLE CEMENT ON SAID PAD. 